Multiple deck refrigerated display case



April 12, 1955 J. R. PICHLER MULTIPLE DECK REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASEFiled Nov. 19, 1952 2 Shets-Sheet l JNVENTOR. Joseph R. Pichler Fig. 2BY A fomeys April 12, 1955 J. R. PICHLER MULTIPLE DECK REFRIGERATEDDISPLAY CASE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 19, 1952 INVENTOR. Joseph R.Pichler 344W and $542,. Attorneys United States Patent MULTIPLE DECKREFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASE Joseph R. Pichler, Dayton, Ohio, assignor toGeneral Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of DelawareApplication 1 ovember 19, 1952, Serial No. 321,369

11 Claims. (Cl. 62--89.5)

This invention relates to self-service refrigerated display cases.

A general object of my invention is to provide a display case of themultiple deck or shelf type having a substantially open top uppercompartment or refrigerated zone and an open top lower compartment orrefrigerated zone therein with means for improving the refrigeration 'ofthe zones by a novel arrangement for circulating air cooled in the caseabout both of these zones.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved circulation anddistribution of air cooled in a display case throughout separatesuperimposed substantially open top compartments or zones thereinwhereby substantially uniform temperatures may be maintained in theseparate zones.

A further object of my invention is to provide a multiple deck, bin orshelf type refrigerated display case with separate upper and lower setsof fans or blowers and to associate baflies or duets with the sets offans in such a manner as to cause the same to force air cooled in thecase in a plurality of opposite directions about or within the uppermostdeck, bin or Zone so as to reduce the temperature gradient between theupper and lower zones.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a display case ofthe type described in the preceding objects with means whereby some ofthe air cooled in the cabinet is circulated under, over and in contactwith foods stored on the food supporting shelf of the upper deck, bin orzone as well as in opposite directions through closed ducts associatedwith said zone.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearlyshown.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front view of a display case having my invention embodiedtherein;

Figure 2 is an end view of the display case shown in Figure l; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the display caseshown in Figure l and taken on the line 33 thereof.

The display case of the present invention comprises a horizontallyelongated cabinet generally represented by the reference character inFigures 1 and 2 of the drawings. Cabinet 10 includes an insulated bottomwall 11 (see Figure 3), an upright insulated back wall 12, a shortupright front wall 14 and upright end walls 16 and 17. The upper part ofshort front wall 14 is formed by a multiple glass panel or damming wall18 mounted in a suitable frame. A hood 19 extends from the back ofcabinet 10 forwardly over a portion of the top of the display case.Upper and lower glass plates 21 and 22 form portions of the end walls 16and 17 of cabinet 10. The insulated bottom Wall 11, back wall 12 and theinsulated lower portion of front wall 14 are provided with an innermetal liner 24 (see Figure 3). The compartment formed by walls 11, 12,14, 16 and 17 of cabinet 10 is divided into upper and lowersubstantially open top food storage compartments, bins, decks or zonesto provide a multiple deck or shelf type refrigerated display case in amanner to hereinafter be described. Each zone, bin or deck extendscontinuously throughout the length of the elongated cabinet 10 and maybe provided with vertical transverse partitions (not shown) forsegregating from the glass panel or damming wall 18.

Patented Apr. 12, 1955 ice different varieties of dairy and meatproducts stored in the zones from one another.

The structure of the lower bin, deck or zone includes a metal plate 26having its long front edge supported on inturned flanges formed on metalstrips 27 which receive and secure a glass plate 28 in a verticalposition spaced It will be noted that the top of plate 28 is disposedbelow the top of wall 18 for a purpose to be hereinafter described.Longitudinally spaced apart brackets 29, suitably secured to liner 24along the front wall 14 of cabinet 10, support the metal strips 27,plate 28 and the front edge of horizontal plate 26. The upturned rearedge of horizontal plate 26 rests on an inturned flange 31 provided on avertical bafiie 32 which is secured to and supported from rows oflongitudinally spaced apart brackets 33 mounted on liner 24 along theback wall 12 of cabinet 14 Horizontal plate 26 is spaced vertically fromthe insulated bottom wall 11 of cabinet 10 to provide a chamber 34between the lowermost refrigerated compartment or zone and the bottom ofthe display case. An elongated cooling unit or evaporator 36, of aclosed refrigerating system (not shown), is located in chamber 34. Avertically disposed partition 38 located in chamber 34 extendsthroughout the length of cabinet 10 and is provided with a plurality ofround openings 39. A fan or blower 41 is located in each of the roundopenings 39 and provides a first means for circulating air cooled byevaporator 36. Each fan 41 is mounted upon and driven by the shaft of anelectric motor 42 suitably supported in chamber 34. The structure of thelower deck or zone also includes a sheet metal member 44 having itsfront edge turned down and supported upon the horizontal partition orplate 26. The front of member 44 terminates a substantial distanceinwardly from the front portion of the lower deck or zone and itsdownturned f ont edge is provided with a series of openings 46 for apurpose to hereinafter be described. The rear edge portion of sheetmetal member 44 is also bent or turned down so as to be locked betweenvertical bafiie 32 and the rear edge portion of partition or plate 26.Sheet metal member 44 provides means forming an air duct or by-passpassage 47 between the same and plate 26. Plate 26 is provided with aplurality of spaced apart elongated openings 48 along and adjacent itsfront edge and a plurality of similarly spaced apart elongated openings49 along and adjacent to its rear edge. A reticulated or wire rod foodsupporting shelf 51, constituting a part of the lower compartment orzone, has its rim at the back thereof supported on sheet metal by-passpassage or duct forming member 44 and has legs secured to its front rimsupported upon the front edge portion of plate 26. The plate 26, ductforming member 44, shelf 51, damming wall 18 and vertical plate 28 ofthe lower deck or zone are coextensive with one another throughout theentire length of cabinet 10.

The structure of the upper compartment, bin, deck or zone includes awall 53 mounted in any suitable or desirable manner in the display casewhich has metal strips 54 secured to its front edge. Metal strips 54provide a mounting pocket or the like for supporting an uprightangularly disposed multiple glass plate damming wall 56. At the back ofthe upper zone or deck there is a vertical baffle or plate 58 spacedfrom and secured to liner 24 of cabinet rear wall 12 by a plurality ofrowsof spaced apart U-shaped or the like brackets 59. Plate 58 isdisposed above vertical baflie 32 and cooperates therewith to providemeans forming an upright air passageway 61 along the cabinet rear Wall12 which communicates with the rear portion of lower chamber 34. A sheetmetal partition 63 is disposed above wall 53 and provides means formingduct or passage 64 therebetween. The front edge of partition 63 restsupon metal strips 66 which form a pocket-like mounting for supporting avertical glass plate 67 in an upright position spaced from the multipleplate damming wall 56. Plate 67, metal strips 66 and the front portionof partition 63 are supported upon wall 53 by a plurality of spacedapart U-shaped or the like brackets 68. The rear edge of partition 63 iswelded or otherwise suitably secured to vertical plate 58. Both thefront and rear portions of partition 63 are provided with a row ofspaced apart openings 71 and 72 respectively. An impervious metal bafile73 is angularly located between vertical plate 58 and partition 63 andhas its edges welded or otherwise suitably secured to these elements. Areticulated or bar-like food supporting shelf 74 is disposed above andin spaced relation to partition 63 to provide a by-pass passagetherebetween. Shelf 74 has its front edge supported by suitable spacedapart legs upon partition 63 and has its rear edge supported by aplurality of spaced apart brackets 76 secured to vertical plate orbattle 58. An angularly disposed partition or bafile 77 has its upperedge secured to wall 53 and its lower edge secured to vertical plate 58.Partition 77 is provided with a plurality of round openings 78 each ofwhich receives a blower or fan 79 driven by an electric motor 81 rigidlymounted upon partition 77 in any suitable or conventional manner. Theupper deck, bin or zone also includes means forming a second duct orpassage 82 associated therewith and communicating with the rear endportion of the first duct or passage 64. The means which forms duct 82comprises a metal baffie 83 having its rear portion suitably secured tovertical plate 58 and having its front edge terminating inwardly ofdamming wall 56 and secured to the underside of wall 53 of the upperdeck or zone. The front portion of baffle 83 is perforated as at 84 toprovide a plurality of air discharge holes or openings at the front ofduct 82.

The elements constituting the structure of the upper deck, bin or zonein cabinet and the plates or battles 32 and 58 are preferablycoextensive with one another and extend throughout the entire length ofthe elongated cabinet. The arrangement and cooperation of plates orbattles 32 and 58 with one another and with the rear wall 12 of cabinet10 are such as to provide outlet openings 86 and 87 for the discharge ofair from the upright passageway 61 over the upper and lower decks orzones respectively above the shelves 74 and 51 thereof and upon meats ordairy products stored on these shelves. Vertical plate 58 is furtherprovided with an outlet opening 88 which permits air to pass frompassageway 61 upwardly beneath shelf 74 and forwardly therealong.Cabinet 10 of the display case may be provided with an auxiliary or jackshelf 89 vertically spaced from and suitably supported above the upperdeck or zone for the reception of less perishable food products ordisplay packages. A mirror 91 may be located in back of the auxiliary orjack shelf 89 for viewing articles on this shelf from the front of thedisplay case.

My invention is directed to a novel circulation of air within cabinet 10and about the upper and lower zones, compartments, bins or decks in orupon which meat and dairy products are stored and particularly to thecirculation of air about the upper deck or zone so as to refrigeratethis zone to substantially the same temperature as that of the lowerzone. Having described the structure and arrangement of air passages orduct forming means of the presently disclosed display case or cabinet,the circulation of cooled air over and about the vertically spaced bins,decks or zones will now be explained. The refrigerating effect producedby cooling unit or evaporator 36 cools air in the lower chamber 34 to apredetermined low temperature and operation of the blowers or fans 41and 79 causes the cooled air to be forced about the meat or dairyproduct supporting compartments, decks, bins or zones to refrigerate andpreserve the same. The plurality of lower fans 41, spaced apartlongitudinally along the elongated cabinet 10, force air cooled byevaporator 36 upwardly through the upright passageway 61 and forwardlythereof through outlet openings 86 and 87 at a point substantially abovethe rear portion of shelves 74 and 51 and downwardly over foods storedthereon. The opening or plurality of spaced apart openings 49 at therear of horizontally disposed partition plate 26 permits some of the aircirculated by fans 41 to enter the by-pass passage or duct 47 and flowforwardly of the case out of the plurality of holes or openings 46provided at the front edge of sheet metal member 44 beneath the frontportion of shelf 51 of the lower deck or zone and into contact withfoods supported on this shelf. Some of the air circulated upwardly inpassageway 61 by fans 41 enters the outlet opening or openings 88 invertical plate 58 and is directed, by the metal baflle 73, through thespaced apart openings 72 in the back portion of partition 63 into theby-pass passage beneath shelf 74, above this partition and into contactwith foods supported on this shelf. The fans or blowers 41 create a lowpressure area in the front portion of lower chamber 34 which causes aircirculated over the top opening 87 of vertical baffle 32, onto foodsstored upon shelf 51, to flow over vertical glass plate 28 anddownwardly through the space between this plate and the front dammingwall 18 into the chamber 34. Simultaneously with this flow, airegressing from duct 47 passes beneath the front portion of shelf 51 atthe front of horizontal partition 26 from where it flows through theopenings 48 therein into the lower chamber 34. The returning air passingbetween vertical glass plate 28 and front damrning wall 18 into chamber34 mixes with the returning air egressing from duct 47 through theopenings 48 prior to being circulated over and/ or through theevaporator 36 for recooling the same. The longitudinally spaced apartupper fans or blowers 79 create a low pressure area in the rear part ofduct 64 of the upper deck, bin or zone structure to thus draw airflowing downwardly from the top outlet openings 86 of passageway 61 andover foods on shelf 74 through the space between vertical glass plate 67and the front damrning wall 56 of this upper zone into duct 64.Simultaneously with this flow of air the air circulated beneath shelf74, by way of openings 72 and 88, is drawn to the front of partitionplate 63 and passes through opening 71 therein into the first duct 64 ofthe upper bin or zone. The air flows toward the rear of the display casethrough duct 64 and the fans 79 then force this air forwardly throughthe second or lower duct 82 of the upper zone or deck. Air circulatedforwardly through duct 82 passes out of the same through the holes orreticulations 84 in duct forming baffle 83 and flows downwardly where itcommingles with air egressing from the outlet opening 87 and passes overfoods in the front portion of the lower compartment, deck or zone. Thecirculation of cooled air rearwardly through duct 64 and thenceforwardly through duct 82 in addition to that circulated over foodsstored on shelf 74 and beneath this shelf augments or greatly increasesthe refrigerating effect of the upper bin, deck or zone to maintain foodproducts stored therein at substantially the same low temperature as thefood products stored in the lower deck or zone. Thus the temperaturegradient between the superimposed bins, decks or zones is materiallyreduced. Air egressing from outlet opening 86 of the upright passageway61 flows along the underside of the auxiliary jack shelf 89 to cool theless perishable food products supported thereon.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that my invention as hereindisclosed provides an improved double or multiple deck self-servicedisplay case. The forced circulation of air forwardly over foods in theupper refrigerated bin, deck or zone and rearwardly and again forwardlywithin the ducts thereof, by the plurality of uppermost fans or blowers,provides an effective and efficient arrangement for cooling the upperdeck or zone to substantially the same temperature as that of the lowermore easily refrigerated deck or zone. Cold circulated air is heavierthan air ambient to the display case and the front damming walls threbyprevent this air from flowing out of the open top of the refrigeratedbins, decks or zones and insure return thereof to the lower chamber soas to be recooled and recirculated. This arrangement results in greatereconomy in operation since the refrigerated air is prevented fromescaping to the outside of the display case and is cooled and recooledover and over again. By providing the plurality of air flow ductsassociated with elevated bins, decks or zones the number of such decksor zones in a display case may be increased and properly refrigerated byincreasing such air flow ducts associated With the zones.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosedconstitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims whichfollow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A display case comprising in combination, an elongated cabinetincluding a bottom wall, anupright back wall and upright end walls, saidcabinet having separate substantially open top storage zones verticallyspaced one above the other adapted to contain food products to berefrigerated, each of said zones including a reticulated food supportingshelf, and means therebelow forming a duct therealong, the lower zonebeing spaced from the bottom wall of said cabinet to provide a chambertherebetween, an evaporator of a closed refrigerating system disposedwithin said chamber for cooling air therein, means forming an uprightpassageway along the back wall of said cabinet communicating with therear of said chamber and with the rear portion of each of said zones ata point above the shelf thereof, a first air circulating means forforcing air cooled by said evaporator upwardly from said chamber throughsaid passageway and forwardly of the case over foods on said shelves,means for directing some of the cooled air forced upwardly in saidpassageway beneath and into contact with foods supported on the shelf ofsaid upper zone and forwardly of the case over the top of said ductthereof, a second separate air circulating means above said first aircirculating means for forcing air flowing forwardly across the top andbottom of said shelf of said upper zone rearwardly through said ductthereof and downwardly over foods stored on the shelf of said lowerzone, means for directing some of the cooled air circulated by saidfirst air circulating means into and forwardly of the case through theduct of said lower zone, and means forming a passage along the front ofsaid case for returning the air forced by both of said air circulatingmeans to said chamber for recooling the the same by said evaporator.

2. A display case comprising in combination, an elongated cabinetincluding a bottom wall, an upright back wall and upright end walls,said cabinet having separate substantially open top storage zonesvertically spaced one above the other adapted to contain food productsto be refrigerated, each of said zones including a reticulated foodsupporting shelf, at least said upper zone having means below the shelfthereof forming a first duct therealong and a second duct below saidfirst duct, said first duct communicating with said second duct at therear of said cabinet and said second duct communicating with the spacebetween said zones substantially midway between the front and back ofsaid cabinet, the lower zone being spaced from the bottom wall of saidcabinet to provide a chamber therebetween, means within said chamber forcooling air therein, means forming an upright passageway along the backwall of said cabinet communicating with the rear of said zones at apoint above the shelf thereof, a first air circulating means for forcingair cooled by said cooling means upwardly from said chamber through saidpassageway and forwardly of the case over foods on said shelves, meansfor directing some of the cooled air forced upwardly in said passagewaybeneath and into contact with foods supported on the shelf of said upperzone and forwardly of the case over the top of said first duct, a secondseparate air circulating means above said first air circulating meansand interposed between said first duct and said second duct for forcingair flowing forwardly across the top and bottom of said shelf of saidupper zone rearwardly through said first duct, forwardly through saidsecond duct and downwardly over foods stored on the front portion of theshelf of said lower zone, and means forming a passage along the front ofsaid case for returning the air forced by both of said air circulatingmeans to said chamber for recooling the same by said cooling means.

3. A display case comprising in combination, an elongated cabinetincluding a bottom wall, an upright back wall and upright end walls,said cabinet having separate substantially open top storage zonesvertically spaced one above the other adapted to contain food productsto be refrigerated, each of said zones including a reticulated foodsupporting shelf, said upper zone having means below the shelf thereofforming a first duct therealong and a second duct below said first duct,said first duct communicating with said second duct at the rear of saidcabinet and said second duct communicating with the space between saidzones substantially midway between the front and back of said cabinet,the lower zone being spaced from the bottom wall of said cabinet toprovide a chamber therebetween, said lower zone having means below theshelf thereof forming a duct therealong, an evaporator of a closedrefrigerating system disposed within said chamber for cooling airtherein, means forming an upright passageway along the back wall of saidcabinet communicating at its lower end with the rear of said chamber andwith the rear portion of each of said zones at a point above the shelfthereof, a first air circulating means for forcing air cooled by saidevaporator upwardly from said chamber through said passageway andforwardly of the case over foods on said shelves, means for directingsome of the cooled air forced upwardly in said passageway beneath andinto contact with foods supported on the shelf of said upper zone andforwardly of the case over the top of said first duct thereof, a secondseparate air circulating means above said first air circulating meansand interposed between said first duct and said second duct for forcingair flowing forwardly across the top and bottom of said shelf of saidupper zone rearwardly through said first duct, forwardly through saidsecond duct and downwardly over foods stored on the front portion of theshelf of said lower zone, means for directing some of the cooled aircirculated by said first air circulating means into and forwardly of thecase through the duct of said lower zone, and means forming a passagealong the front of said case for returning the air forced by both ofsaid air circulating means to said chamber for recooling the same bysaid evaporator.

4. A display case comprising in combination, an elongated cabinetincluding a bottom wall, an upright back wall and upright end walls,said cabinet having separate substantially open top storage zonesvertically spaced one above the other adapted to contain food productsto be refrigerated, each of said zones including a reticulated foodsupporting shelf extending throughout the length of the caseintermediate said cabinet end walls, a front damming wall and a verticalplate rearwardly spaced from and of less height than said damming frontwalls, said damming front walls and said vertical plate of each of saidzones being coextensive with the shelf thereof, at least said upper zonehaving means below the shelf thereof forming a duct therealong, thelower zone being spaced from the bottom wall of said cabinet to providea chamber therebetween, an evaporator of a closed refrigerating systemdisposed within said chamber for cooling air therein, means forming anupright passageway along the back wall of said cabinet communicatingwith said chamber and with the rear of said zones at a point above theshelf thereof, a first plurality of longitudinally spaced apart aircirculating means for forcing air cooled by said evaporator upwardlyfrom said chamber through said passageway, forwardly of the case overfoods on said shelves and downwardly through the space between saidfront damming wall and said vertical plate of said zones, means fordirecting some of the cooled air forced upwardly in said passagewaybeneath and into contact with foods supported on the shelf of said upperzone and forwardly of the case over said duct thereof, and a secondplurality of longitudinally spaced apart air circulating mean separatefrom and disposed above said first plurality of air circulating meansfor forcing air flowing forwardly across the top and bottom of saidshelf of said upper zone into and rearwardly through said ductassociated therewith and downwardly over foods stored on the shelf ofsaid lower zone prior to its flow into said chamber for recooling bysaid evaporator.

5. A display case comprising in combination, an elongated cabinetincluding a bottom wall, an upright back wall and upright end walls,said cabinet having separate substantially open top storage zonesvertically spaced one above the other adapted to contain food productsto be refrigerated, each of said zones including a reticulated foodsupporting shelf extending throughout the length of the caseintermediate said cabinet end walls, a front damming wall, a verticalplate rearwardly spaced from and of less height than said damming frontwalls and means below the shelves forming a duct therealong, saiddamming front wall, said vertical plate and said duct of each of saidzones being coextensive with the shelf thereof, the lower zone beingspaced from the bottom wall of said cabinet to provide a chambertherebetween, an evaporator of a closed refrigerating system disposedwithin said chamber for cooling air therein, means forming anuprightpassageway along the back wall of said cabinet communicating withthe rear of said chamber and with the rear portion of each of said zonesat a point above the shelf thereof, a first plurality of longitudinallyspaced apart air circulating means for forcing air cooled by saidevaporator upwardly from said chamber through said passageway andforwardly of the case over foods on said shelves, means for directingsome of the cooled air forced upwardly in said passageway beneath andinto contact with foods supported on the shelf of said upper zone andforwardly of the case over the top of said duct thereof, a secondplurality of longitudinally spaced apart air circulating means separatefrom and disposed above said plurality of first air circulating meansfor forcing air flowing forwardly across the top and bottom of saidshelf of said upper zone rearwardly through said duct thereof anddownwardly over foods stored on the shelf of said lower zone, means fordirecting some of the cooled air cir culated by said plurality of firstair circulating means into and forwardly of the case through the duct ofsaid lower zone, and the air flowing over foods on the shelf of each ofsaid zones being returned to said chamber for recooling by saidevaporator through the space between the damming wall and the verticalplate of said lower zone.

6. A display case comprising in combination, an elongated cabinetincluding a bottom wall, an upright back wall and upright end walls,said cabinet having separate substantially open top storage zonesvertically spaced one above the other adapted to contain food productsto be refrigerated, each of said zones including a reticulated foodsupporting shelf extending throughout the length of the caseintermediate said cabinet end walls, a front damming wall and a verticalplate rearwardly spaced from and of less height than said damming frontwalls, said damming front wall and said vertical plate of each of saidzones being coextensive with the shelf thereof, at least said upper zonehaving means below the shelf thereof forming a first duct therealong anda second duct below said first duct, said first duct communicating withsaid second duct at the rear of said cabinet and said duct communicatingwith the space between said zones substantially midway between the frontand back of said cabinet, the lower zone being spaced from the bottomwall of said cabinet to provide a chamber therebetween, means withinsaid chamber for cooling air therein, means forming an uprightpassageway along the back wall of said cabinet communicating with therear of said zones at a point above the shelf thereof, a first pluralityof longitudinally spaced apart air circulating means for forcing aircooled by said cooling means upwardly from said chamber through saidpassageway and forwardly of the case over foods on said shelves, meansfor directing some of the cooled air forced upwardly in said passagewaybeneath and into contact with foods supported on the shelf of said upperzone and forwardly of the case over the top of said first duct, a secondplurality of longitudinally spaced apart air circulating means abovesaid first plurality of air circulating means and interposed betweensaid first duct and said second duct for forcing air flowing forwardlyacross the top and bottom of said shelf of said upper zone rearwardlythrough said first duct, forwardly through said second duct anddownwardly over foods stored on the front portion of the shelf of saidlower zone, and the air flowing over foods on the shelf of each of saidzones being returned to said chamber for recooling by said cooling meansthrough the space between the damming wall and the vertical plate ofsaid lower zone.

7. A multiple deck self service display case of the type including aplurality of substantially open top display bins disposed one above theother and each having a shelf therein spaced from the bottom thereofadapted to receive and support food products to be refrigeratedcomprising; an evaporator of a closed refrigerating system within saidcase, means for circulating air over said evaporator to cool the same,supply and return passageways associated with said evaporator and saidair circulating means, said supply passageway being arranged todischarge the cooled air forwardly of the case above each shelf and uponfood products thereon, means for refrigerating the bottom side of foodproducts supported upon at least the shelf in the uppermost of saidbins, said last named means including a by-pass passage beneath theshelf in said uppermost bin, said by-pass passage receiving some of thecooled air from said supply passageway circulating toward said uppermostbin and directing the same forwardly of the case along the underside ofthe shelf in said uppermost bin, a first duct means communicating withthe front portion of said uppermost bin for receiving and causing theforward flow of air circulated both over and under the shelf therein tobe reversed and directed toward the rear of the case, a second ductmeans communicating with the back portion of said first duct means forreceiving air therefrom, and a second air circulating means spaced fromsaid first named air circulating means and located at the point ofcommunication of said first duct means with said second duct means fordirecting air received therein toward the front of the case anddownwardly into the air flowing over the shelf in the lowermost of saidbins.

8. A multiple deck self service display case of the type including aplurality of substantially open top display bins disposed one above theother and each having a shelf therein spaced from the bottom thereofadapted to receive and support food products to be refrigeratedcomprising; an evaporator of a closed refrigerating system within saidcase, means for circulating air over said evaporator to cool the same,supply and return passageways associated with said evaporator and saidair circulating means, said supply passageway being arranged todischarge the cooled air forwardly of the case above each shelf and uponfood products thereon, means for refrigerating the bottom side of foodproducts supported upon each of the shelves in said bins, said lastnamed means including a by-pass passage beneath each shelf, said by-passpassages each receiving some of the cooled air circulated by said aircirculating means and directing the same forwardly of the case along theunderside of said shelves, duct means communicating with the frontportion of the uppermost of said bins for receiving and causing the flowof air circulated over and under the shelf therein to be reversed anddirected toward the rear of the case, and said duct means dischargingthe reversed flow of air into the air flowing over the shelf in thelowermost of said bins.

9. A multiple deck self service display case of the type including aplurality of substantially open top display bins disposed one above theother and each having a shelf therein spaced from the bottom thereofadapted to receive and support food products to be refrigeratedcomprising; an evaporator of a closed refrigerating system within saidcase, means for circulating air over said evaporator to cool the same,supply and return passageways associated with said evaporator and saidair circulating means, said supply passageway being arranged todischarge the cooled air forwardly of the case above each shelf and uponfood products thereon, means for refrigerating the bottom side of foodproducts supported upon each of the shelves in said bins, said lastnamed means including a by-pass passage beneath each shelf, said by-passpassages each receiving some of the cooled air circulated by said aircirculating means and directing the same forwardly of the case along theunderside of said shelves, a first duct means communicating with thefront portion of the uppermost of said bins for receiving and causingthe flow of air circulated over and under the shelf therein to bereversed and directed toward the rear of the case, and a second ductmeans communicating with the back portion of said first duct means forreceiving air therefrom and again directing this air toward the front ofthe case and downwardly into the air flowing over the shelf in thelowermost of said bins.

10. A display case according to claim 9 wherein a second air circulatingmeans is spaced from the first air circulating means and is located atthe point of communication between the duct means for augmenting theflow of air therethrough.

11. A multiple deck self service display case of the type including aplurality of substantially open top display bins disposed one above theother and each having a shelf therein spaced from the bottom thereofadapted to receive and support food products to be refrigeratedcomprising; an evaporator of a closed refrigerating system within saidcase, means for circulating air over said evaporator to cool the same,supply and return passageways associated with said evaporator and saidair circulating means, said supply passageway being arranged todischarge the cooled air forwardly of the case above each shelf and uponfood products thereon, means for refrigcrating the bottom side of foodproducts supported upon at least the shelf in the uppermost of saidbins, said last named means including a by-pass passage beneath theshelf in said uppermost bin, said by-pass passage receiving some of thecooled air from said supply passageway circulating toward said uppermostbin and directing the same forwardly of the case along the underside ofthe shelf in said uppermost bin, a first duct means communieating withthe front portion of said uppermost bin for receiving and causing theforward flow of air circulated both over and under the shelf therein tobe reversed and directed toward the rear of the case, a second ductmeans 9 10 communiedating with the bagktfiiorftion off said first due;UNITED STATES PATENTS means an exten 'ng toWar e rent 0 t e case, an 1said second duct means receiving air from said first duct ReferencesCted m file of thls Patent means and again directing the same forwardlyof the 2,466,286 Stultz Apr. 5, 1949 case and downwardly into the airflowing over the shelf in 5 2,528,916 Shreve Nov. 7, 1950 the lowermostof said bins. 2,631,438 Weber Mar. 17, 1953

